Reading comp PrepTest 150 · Section 4 · Question 17

Topic: Science

Paragraph 1

• Paragraph note
  • Background on dowsing
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • Definition of "dowsing":
    • The practice of detecting underground resources by walking with an inert object over a terrain (first sentence)
  • Example of dowsing practice:
    • Dowsers find water by walking with a forked tree branch, and when it is pulled into a vertical position, the water is below (second sentence)
    • The distance and flow rate are also determined via the tree branch (third through last sentences)
  • Cause-and-effect relationship, according to dowsers:
    • Underground water causes the inert object to be "pulled" into a vertical position, with the strength of the pull correlating with the water's flow rate (second and last sentences);(sentence four)

Paragraph 2

• Paragraph note
  • Dowsing skeptics' view
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • List of arguments against dowsing:
    • The crudeness of the method (first sentence)
    • The dowser is probably subconsciously manipulating the results (second sentence)
    • Numerous studies demonstrate that, though some dowsers demonstrate considerable success, most dowsers are not consistently effective (third sentence three)
    • Dowsers usually only discover water where water was likely to be found anyway (last sentence)
  • Cause-and-effect relationship, according to skeptics (in contrast to the cause-and-effect relationship in the first paragraph):
    • Skeptics claim the dowser's subconscious thoughts about the likelihood of finding water cause the inert object to be "pulled" upright (second sentence)

Paragraph 3

• Paragraph note
  • Dowsing proponents' view
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • List of arguments for dowsing:
    • Dowsing is not one skill but multiple techniques that should be evaluated separately (first sentence one)
    • Dowsers are self-certified, and studies of randomly-selected dowsers underrepresent great dowsers (second sentence)
    • Successful dowsers actually notice Earth's electromagnetic fields (third sentence)
    • A good dowser is more effective than scientists using advanced technology (last sentence)

Paragraph 4

• Paragraph note
  • Author: A recent study shows that dowsers may actually be sensitive to electromagnetic fields and more effective than scientists
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • Author's view:
    • A recent study "corroborated" the dowsing proponents' claims that they may be sensitive to electromagnetic fields and may be more successful than scientists using modern methods (first sentence)
  • Comparison, according to the study:
    • In the study, dowsers made consistently more accurate predictions about the location of drill sites for groundwater than geologists and hydrologists (last sentence)
  • Author's attitude: "corroborated" (first sentence); "extensive study" (first sentence); "consistently made significantly more accurate predictions" (last sentence); "suggesting" (last sentence)

Main Point: Although many are skeptical of dowsing's efficacy, a recent study has corroborated some dowsing proponents' claims that skilled dowsers are sensitive to changes in Earth's electromagnetic field and are more effective at locating underground water supplies than geologists or hydrologists.

Paragraph 1, Sentence 1 (P1, S1) - Definition of practice

P2, S1 - Beginning of argument against the practice

P3, S1 - Beginning of argument for the practice

P4, S1 - Author's endorsement of the practice

Resolving a Debate: This author uses a Resolving a Debate Meta-Structure in this passage. In such a passage, the author describes two sides of a debate and then endorses one side or attempts to resolve the dispute. In this case, the author presents a debate over dowsing's efficacy and eventually supports the pro-dowsing position. The passage is organized straightforwardly: the author defines dowsing in the first paragraph, lists arguments against dowsing in the second, outlines the pro-dowsing position in the third, and then gives their final conclusion based on recent evidence in the last paragraph.

The main point in Resolving a Debate Meta-Structures is the author's opinion on the debate or the author's mediation/reconciliation of the debate. In this case, the author's opinion is squarely pro-dowsing. So, we summarized the main point as follows, "Although many are skeptical of dowsing's efficacy, a recent study has corroborated some dowsing proponents' claims that skilled dowsers are sensitive to changes in Earth's electromagnetic field and are more effective at locating underground water supplies than geologists or hydrologists."

List: The predominant minor Meta-Structure in this passage is a list. The author lists arguments for and against dowsing in the second and third paragraphs. We summarized each item on the list in the Passage Summary. We recommend highlighting or underlining each item to help us locate any item we might need to answer a question. But if you'd like to save yourself some fact-finding missions on the inevitable Minor Point questions, you can try to memorize a few key details. Here's what we recommend memorizing about arguments for and against dowsing:

• Skeptics say dowsing is ineffective, unsupported by studies, and only used when groundwater is likely to be found anyway.
• Skeptics concede that some dowsers are consistently successful.
• Proponents say good dowsers may be sensitive to electromagnetic fields and more effective than scientists with modern technology.
• Proponents concede that there are many more bad dowsers than good dowsers represented in a typical study.

Of course, if you have trouble memorizing stuff, you don't have to. You can always check the passage to anticipate what the correct answer will say. We'll discuss how you can do this most efficiently in the question explanations.

With the lists factoring into each paragraph, this is an exceptionally detail-oriented passage. So, we should expect a higher proportion of Minor Point questions. Thankfully, we'll be armed with location devices even more powerful than a dowsing stick: our notes, what we highlighted/underlined, and (if necessary) the CTRL/Command + F search function.